Sweet Blog O'Mine

Category: Weblogs

  • Epilogue

    You may be wondering, as I was, what my parents’ reaction to my weblog would be. (You may not — in which case you should probably skip this post entirely.) It was very — underwhelming. I’m not sure it was because a) they didn’t really take the time to read it; b) they don’t really care; or c) they did take the time to read it and do care, but weren’t particularly excited by it. I’m rooting for a. My dad offered one comment — “you’re funny! Especially the thing about the hotdish. And it’s great that you have a link to the recipe for Kim’s cheesecake.” I’m going to interpret the surprise in his voice when he said, “you’re funny” as a compliment. Something along the lines of “gee — who knew my daughter was so witty!” Maybe they don’t quite “get” the weblog as a medium. They’re not super-techno-savvy. I sent my stepmother an Evite and she was flummoxed. Dad had to help her respond (which she did — nice teamwork!). I’m hoping they realize that they can comment on entries if they choose to do so, etc., and actually take the time to check it every now and again. I think my brother and sister read it from time to time. Keep in mind, that I actually have two sets of parents. I haven’t given my mom and stepfather the link yet. Maybe later this week!

    And by the way — how ’bout that snow!?


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  • Outed!

    After Thanksgiving at my Mom’s, I traveled to Virginia to meet my Dad, stepmom, brother and sister at a farmhouse in the Shenandoah Valley. The farmhouse belongs to friends of the family from back in the day when we lived in Washington D.C. — they have a set of twins a month younger than my brother and sister, and a daughter a year older than the twins. We have kept in touch over the years, and decided to join them for a second Thanksgiving. We arrived late Friday night, after some flight delays and hideous weather, and proceeded to cook the first of the weekend feasts — the Maine contingent had brought lobsters (I brought NYC bagels for the next morning). When we finally got settled, we all sat down to our lobster dinner, with plenty of wine to go around. Somehow, during the course of the conversation, we started talking about the internet, discussing things like Friendster, and how it served as a way for people in our generation to meet new people (I am in the process of adding Stephanie, Josh, and Jon to my “friends” list). I mentioned, without really thinking, that I had just met someone through my weblog. “Your what?” Oops. So now they know — it’s really no big deal. There’s nothing here that’s particularly scandalous or embarrasing (at least I don’t think so). Yet.

    So — to the family and friends of the family who are now reading my blog for the first time — Welcome! (Gulp.)

    The weekend was centered around family (10 people in the two families), friends (who joined us for the feasts — I think there were 25-30 people for the second Thanksgiving), and, of course, food. One of the culinary highlights for the weekend, in my opinion, was Kim’s pumpkin cheesecake with bourbon whipped cream (from Cooks’ Illustrated). Kim subsituted crushed peanut butter cookies for the graham crackers in the crust. Yum. The other culinary highlight, or more accurately, fascination, for me was learning about something called “hotdish.” For those of you, like me, who were unfamiliar with the term “hotdish,” it seems to be a Midwestern (Minnesotan?) term for anything that you throw into a casserole and bake. A quick google search for hotdish led me to my favorite definition: Hotdish: 1) midwestern colloquialism for a hot entree that is similar to a French casserole except that it is often inedible; 2) the bastard offspring of canned Cream of Mushroom soup.

    As those of you at the farm this weekend recall, I spent a great deal of time snapping photos. Here’s a quick preview, but you can find the rest of them here.

    farmhouse.jpg

  • Outed!

    After Thanksgiving at my Mom’s, I traveled to Virginia to meet my Dad, stepmom, brother and sister at a farmhouse in the Shenandoah Valley. The farmhouse belongs to friends of the family from back in the day when we lived in Washington D.C. — they have a set of twins a month younger than my brother and sister, and a daughter a year older than the twins. We have kept in touch over the years, and decided to join them for a second Thanksgiving. We arrived late Friday night, after some flight delays and hideous weather, and proceeded to cook the first of the weekend feasts — the Maine contingent had brought lobsters (I brought NYC bagels for the next morning). When we finally got settled, we all sat down to our lobster dinner, with plenty of wine to go around. Somehow, during the course of the conversation, we started talking about the internet, discussing things like Friendster, and how it served as a way for people in our generation to meet new people (I am in the process of adding Stephanie, Josh, and Jon to my “friends” list). I mentioned, without really thinking, that I had just met someone through my weblog. “Your what?” Oops. So now they know — it’s really no big deal. There’s nothing here that’s particularly scandalous or embarrasing (at least I don’t think so). Yet.

    So — to the family and friends of the family who are now reading my blog for the first time — Welcome! (Gulp.)

    The weekend was centered around family (10 people in the two families), friends (who joined us for the feasts — I think there were 25-30 people for the second Thanksgiving), and, of course, food. One of the culinary highlights for the weekend, in my opinion, was Kim’s pumpkin cheesecake with bourbon whipped cream (from Cooks’ Illustrated). Kim subsituted crushed peanut butter cookies for the graham crackers in the crust. Yum. The other culinary highlight, or more accurately, fascination, for me was learning about something called “hotdish.” For those of you, like me, who were unfamiliar with the term “hotdish,” it seems to be a Midwestern (Minnesotan?) term for anything that you throw into a casserole and bake. A quick google search for hotdish led me to my favorite definition: Hotdish: 1) midwestern colloquialism for a hot entree that is similar to a French casserole except that it is often inedible; 2) the bastard offspring of canned Cream of Mushroom soup.

    As those of you at the farm this weekend recall, I spent a great deal of time snapping photos. Here’s a quick preview, but you can find the rest of them here.

    farmhouse.jpg

  • To tell, or not to tell

    The Onion | Mom Finds Out About Blog

    Yeah — perhaps it’s better not to tell my parents about this. Gotta love the Onion!

  • To tell, or not to tell

    The Onion | Mom Finds Out About Blog

    Yeah — perhaps it’s better not to tell my parents about this. Gotta love the Onion!

  • Exposed!

    The other day I told my brother and sister about my weblog. They’re 22-year-old twins, both living in New England. My sister has recently graduated from college and is working at the moment at an apple orchard, and my brother is finishing his last year in college. They’re both very smart, energetic, athletic, and outdoorsy. Neither one of them knew what a weblog is, or could understand why on earth anyone would want one. Well — hopefully they’ll a) enjoy it anyway, b) not tell my parents about it, and c) not disown me. At least I’m only their half-sister.

    bandk.jpg

    I told a few other friends about it as well. Maybe I’ll start to get comments . . .

  • Exposed!

    The other day I told my brother and sister about my weblog. They’re 22-year-old twins, both living in New England. My sister has recently graduated from college and is working at the moment at an apple orchard, and my brother is finishing his last year in college. They’re both very smart, energetic, athletic, and outdoorsy. Neither one of them knew what a weblog is, or could understand why on earth anyone would want one. Well — hopefully they’ll a) enjoy it anyway, b) not tell my parents about it, and c) not disown me. At least I’m only their half-sister.

    bandk.jpg

    I told a few other friends about it as well. Maybe I’ll start to get comments . . .

  • Why Blog?

    Over the weekend, I told a few folks about the rebirth of my weblog. Reactions ranged from “cool — take a look at mine, too!” to “a what?” Some thought I was brave for putting my life out into the public:

    16:57] X: impressive
    [16:57] X: it’s great that you are doing that.
    [16:57] Me: are you serious?
    [16:57] X: sure
    [16:57] X: i think it’s amazing
    [16:58] Me: not that impressive — sooooo many people do it
    [16:58] X: i couldn’t do that
    [16:58] Me: why not
    [16:58] X: i just don’t want to talk about anything with everyone
    [16:58] X: putting your whole life out there and such
    [16:58] X: couldn’t do it

    Well — I will not be “putting my whole life out there.” First of all, I am still deciding who to tell about this thing, and lord knows I do NOT want my parents and siblings reading about my sex life or lack thereof. I am pretty sure they don’t want to read about it either. Blecch. I will not be sharing my deepest, darkest secrets, fears, and insecurities here. Those will stay buried and repressed where they belong. I will share musings, insights, attempts at wit and humor, and general trials and tribulations of daily life. (I’m still searching for a gimmick — see earlier post). Until then, I blather and blog away. Enjoy.

  • Why Blog?

    Over the weekend, I told a few folks about the rebirth of my weblog. Reactions ranged from “cool — take a look at mine, too!” to “a what?” Some thought I was brave for putting my life out into the public:

    16:57] X: impressive
    [16:57] X: it’s great that you are doing that.
    [16:57] Me: are you serious?
    [16:57] X: sure
    [16:57] X: i think it’s amazing
    [16:58] Me: not that impressive — sooooo many people do it
    [16:58] X: i couldn’t do that
    [16:58] Me: why not
    [16:58] X: i just don’t want to talk about anything with everyone
    [16:58] X: putting your whole life out there and such
    [16:58] X: couldn’t do it

    Well — I will not be “putting my whole life out there.” First of all, I am still deciding who to tell about this thing, and lord knows I do NOT want my parents and siblings reading about my sex life or lack thereof. I am pretty sure they don’t want to read about it either. Blecch. I will not be sharing my deepest, darkest secrets, fears, and insecurities here. Those will stay buried and repressed where they belong. I will share musings, insights, attempts at wit and humor, and general trials and tribulations of daily life. (I’m still searching for a gimmick — see earlier post). Until then, I blather and blog away. Enjoy.

  • The Rebirth

    I’m testing out TypePad for my weblog, which has been up for about a year or so on Blogger. If it works, I’ll repost some of my old stuff (just to keep everyone in the loop).

    Update — I am loving TypePad, so I have moved over my old posts, etc. and am experimenting with photos and more!